Short-term rentals are prohibited

Short-term rentals, like those offered through Airbnb or VRBO, are prohibited by the restrictive covenants found in Peck’s Lake deeds. Our deeds include several restrictions and limits on how properties can be used, including prohibiting using deed-restricted properties for business or commercial purposes, limiting properties to single-family residential use ONLY, and prohibiting using your property to allow access to the lake to the general public.

In November 2023 the New York Supreme Court (Stone v Peck) ruled that the restrictive covenants that are part of our deeds “prohibits the short-term rental of property,” and that the restrictions on granting access to the lake to the general public “prohibits…permitting renters access to the waters of Peck Lake.”

“Even if the Plaintiffs and their renters are using the property for residential purposes, and even if the Plaintiffs themselves are physically at the property a portion of the year, wrote New York Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Slezak, “the commercialization of property in any way, by renting it out and advertising it on Airbnb or VRBO is prohibited.“

So is “house-swapping”

It is the position of the PLPA, and our attorneys, that the ruling also applies to those who offer and/or use their property for “house swapping.” House Swapping, notes our attorneys, “violates Restricted Use No. 8” [of our deed restrictions]. These individuals are “not party to any deed, easement, or license to use the land or the lake waters.” Rather, they are members of the general public, without permission to access the Lake.

House Swapping does not constitute a residential use of property, but rather, a commercial one. It is not a residential use because the third parties using your property during the house swap are using the property in a short-term, transient manner, much like a hotel — which is expressly prohibited by the Court’s ruling in Stone v. Peck. Furthermore, according to our attorneys, “House Swapping is commercial; it entails a bargained-for exchange through which you obtain the benefit of temporarily living in a third-party’s residence.”

We hope that all lake property owners will abide by the court’s decision and honor the restrictive covenants that are part of our deeds by not offering your property as a short-term rental or as a house-swap . The PLPA is committed to enforcing these deed restrictions to the fullest extent of the law.